Realism (arts)

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For other uses, see Realism (disambiguation).

Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. The term is also used to describe works of art which, in revealing a truth, may emphasize the ugly or sordid.

Realism also refers to a mid-19th century cultural movement with its roots in France, where it was a very popular art form around the mid to late 1800’s. It came about with the introduction of photography - a new visual source that created a desire for people to produce things that look “objectively real”. Realism was heavily against romanticism, a genre dominating French literature and artwork in the mid 19th century. Undistorted by personal bias, Realism believed in the ideology of objective reality and revolted against exaggerated emotionalism. Truth and accuracy became the goals of many Realists.

1 French cultural movement
2 Schools in literature and theatre
3 Visual Arts
4 Dramatic Arts
5 Cinema
6 See also
7 References
8 Related
9 External link

[edit] French cultural movement

Realism became prominent as a cultural movement as a reaction to the idealism of Romanticism in the middle of the 19th century. Often linked to demands for social and political reform and democracy, realism dominated the visual arts and literature of France, England and the United States from around 1840 to 1880, and along with naturalism dominated Brazil's literature through out this same time. Prominent realist writers and playwrights include Balzac, Stendhal, George Meredith, and Thomas William Robertson in the United Kingdom, and Eça de Queirós in Portugal, as well as the influential Brazilian Machado de Assis. Their counterparts in the visual arts include Gustave Courbet and Jean François Millet

[edit] Schools in literature and theatre

[edit] Visual Arts

Main article: Realism (visual arts)

Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a "true-to-life" manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes.

However no art can ever be fully realistic. Distortion in form, simplification of details are required for any painting. Taking this argument further, newer forms of art like Surrealism, hyper-realism, Magic Realism have developed in the field of visual art.

[edit] Dramatic Arts

Main article: Realism (dramatic arts)

The achievement of realism in theater was to direct attention to the physical and philosophic problems of ordinary existence, both socially and psychologically. In plays of this mode people emerge as victims of forces larger than themselves, as individuals confronted with a rapidly accelerating world.^[1] These pioneering playwrights were unafraid to present their characters as ordinary, impotent, and unable to arrive at answers to their predicaments.

[edit] Cinema

Italian neorealism was a cinematic movement incorporating elements of realism that developed in post-WWII Italy. Notable Neorealists included Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, and Roberto Rossellini.